3 killed in Borman Expressway crash where car split in half

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- A violent crash Sunday morning on the Borman Expressway in northwest Indiana split a car in half and killed three people in their 20s.

Police said five people were traveling west in a 2010 Dodge Avenger on I-80/94 just east of Cline Avenuearound 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning. The driver passed a semi in the right lane, and then lost control of the car. The car hit a support pole for the overhead exit sign and split in half.

Two people survived the crash, including the driver, who is in stable condition at Northlake Methodist Hospital in Gary Sunday night.

Shaquita Kendrick, 21, was killed in the crash that left two of her friends dead.

"She cared about them a lot," said Nikisha Kendrick, Shaquita's mother. "She would obviously give you the shirt off her back. (She was) well-loved and well-liked by everybody. She was the life of the party."

Kendrick's 22-year-old boyfriend, Robert Hayes, was driving the vehicle. Witnesses say it was as Hayes passed a semi tractor-trailer that he lost control of the car, which first careened into a concrete barrier wall before striking an overhead sign pole.

The impact split the car in two, sparking a small fire which good Samaritans put out.

Killed instantly was front seat passenger Kendrick, who was ejected from the car, along with back seat passenger, 20-year-old Timothy Riley of Calumet City.

"He was going to school, he was going to the Art Institute downtown," said Nadine Jackson, Riley's mother. "That was his passion, doing videos, that's what he was going to school for."

Relatives say the group of friends was twitting from videotaping a rap contest in the area.

While a third back-seat passenger, 22-year-old John Paul Misquez of Los Angeles was critically injured, another backseat passenger, 21-year-old William Burton Jr., also of Calumet City, died at an area hospital.

"He was all about family, he loved his family," said William Burton Sr. "I'm going to miss him. I can't believe he's gone."

The second survivor is in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Police are continuing to investigate the crash, but say no charges have been filed in connection with that accident.